President Obama working on his State of the Union speech Monday night. / Jacquelyn Martin, AP

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

An immigrant brought illegally to the United States as a child, General Motors CEO Mary Barra, the governor of Kentucky, and the mayor of San Francisco will be among President Obama's guests at Tuesday night's State of the Union.

The White House announced 11 more guests Tuesday who will sit with first lady Michelle Obama and other officials in the presidential box.

They join six other invitees announced Monday, including two survivors of the Boston Marathon bombings and openly gay basketball player Jason Collins.

Obama's speech starts at 9 p.m. ET Tuesday.

Since Ronald Reagan, presidents have used guests at the State of the Union to illustrate various issues. This year, those issues include immigration and the health care law.

The new list, with descriptions from the White House:

â?¢ Aliana Arzola-PiÃ±ero, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2013 Kids State Dinner attendee. She participated in the 2012 Healthy Lunchtime Challenge sponsored by the first lady. While she didn't win, she worked hard, tried again, and her perseverance paid off as she proudly represented Puerto Rico at the 2013 Kid's State Dinner hosted by the first lady. Her winning recipe "Yummy Eggplant Lasagna Rolls," incorporates the 'My Plate" guidelines.

â?¢ Cristian Avila, Phoenix, DREAMer, "Core Faster" and Voter Engagement Coordinator. Cristian Avila, 23, was brought to the United States with his younger brother and sister when he was 9-years-old. Though Cristian became an All-American scholar by seventh grade and received a full scholarship to a private Jesuit high school, he was limited by his undocumented status.

â?¢ Mary Barra, Detroit, chief executive officer, General Motors Company. Mary Barra was named chief executive officer of General Motors effective Jan. 15. In this role, she leads the company's overall efforts to strengthen GM globally as an industry leader in automotive design and technology, product quality, customer care and business results.

â?¢ Gov. Steve Beshear, D-K.Y. Gov. Beshear has worked closely with the Obama administration to provide affordable health care to the people of Kentucky. In his second term, the governor extended access to affordable health care coverage to hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians by expanding Medicaid and setting up a new health insurance Marketplace, "Kynect."

â?¢ Tyrone Davis, Winston-Salem, N.C. Fellow with the Environmental Defense Fund's Climate Corps. Tyrone Davis, from Winston-Salem, NC, has been legally blind since the age of nine. Despite his vision loss, he ran cross-country and track in high school, and received a political science degree and Masters of Public Administration from North Carolina State University. He developed an interest in environmental issues during his time as an undergraduate, which led to a fellowship with the Environmental Defense Fund in 2010, placing him at Elizabeth City State University, a historically black university.

â?¢ Vice Admiral Michelle Howard, Washington, D.C., deputy chief of Naval Operations for Operations, Plans & Strategy. This year, Vice Admiral Michelle Howard will become the first female four-star Admiral in the 238-year-history of the United States Navy, and the first African-American female to achieve four-star rank in the history of the military.

â?¢ Sabrina Simone Jenkins, Charleston, S.C. Sabrina is a single mother to her teenage daughter Kenya. After serving in the Air Force, Sabrina took classes at DeVry University while working full time, graduating with a 3.7 GPA at the age of 42 - all while caring for ailing family members and becoming seriously ill herself. Sabrina then earned her master's degree in human resources in 2012. Sabrina is currently saddled with nearly $90,000 in student loan debt, something that will only worsen as she pays for Kenya to go to college.

â?¢ Mayor Ed Lee, San Francisco. Mayor Edwin M. Lee is the son of Chinese immigrants and the first Asian-American Mayor of San Francisco, a position he's held for more than three years. He previously served as San Francisco's City administrator and director of the Department of Public Works. In 2013, he hosted a series of town halls to mobilize the Silicon Valley business community in support of immigration reform.

â?¢ Andra Rush, Detroit, founder and chairperson, The Rush Group, Detroit Manufacturing Systems. Andra Rush is a descendant of the Mohawk Tribe from the Six-Nation Reservation, and the founder and chairperson of the Rush Group family of companies, which include Rush Trucking, Dakkota Integrated Systems, and Detroit Manufacturing Systems. This consortium of manufacturing, trucking, assembly, and distribution is one of the largest Native American-owned businesses in the country.

â?¢ Amanda Shelley, Gilbert, Ariz., physician assistant. For years, Amanda Shelley, a 37-year-old physician assistant from Gilbert, Arizona, was unable to get insurance due to a pre-existing condition. That all changed on Jan. 1, thanks to the Affordable Care Act.

â?¢ Antoinette Tuff, Atlanta, DeKalb County bookkeeper. On Aug. 20, 2013, the world learned of the compassion and heroism of Antoinette Tuff, the DeKalb County bookkeeper who prevented a shooting at Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy, an elementary school in the suburbs of Atlanta. Tuff, a mother of one daughter and one son, talked the would-be shooter down, sharing her personal struggles, discussing love and doing her best to connect with him until he surrendered before harming anyone.